John G. Hanhardt

Kira Perov

Bill Viola began producing video works in the early 1970s, and since then has captivated audiences with his poignant and beautifully wrought interpretations of human experience. He is today considered among the most celebrated proponents of the medium of video art. This is the first monograph to chart Viola's career in full, covering his education in New York, his earliest major films of mirages in the Sahara desert and of hospital medical imagery, his retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York 1997 and his recent installations in Venice, New York, Tokyo, London and Berlin. Hanhardt outlines the key visual, literary and spiritual influences on Viola's work and his changing approach to the medium of film in response to technological advancement. Woven into the discussion are illustrations of Viola's most significant works, including Information (1973), The Passing, (1991), The Greeting (1995), Going Forth by Day (2002) and Martyrs, the 2014 film commissioned for St Paul's Cathedral in London, as well as reproductions of Viola's sketches and notebooks that bring his working process to life. Supplemented by a select chronology, bibliography and list of public collections, Bill Viola offers a rare and fascinating account of one of contemporary art's most powerful creative minds.

Bill Viola

Martin Clayton

At first glance, there may appear to be more to separate Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Bill Viola (b. 1951) than to unite them: one, the great master of the Italian Renaissance; the other, the creator of state-of-the-art immersive sound and video installations. And yet, when Martin Clayton showed Viola Her Majesty The Queen's unsurpassed collection of Michelangelo drawings at Windsor in 2006, the two men began to discover parallels. This book presents a new perspective on both artists' works. Stills and sequences from twelve key video pieces by Viola are reproduced alongside seventeen of Michelangelo's presentation drawings, as well as the Taddei Tondo, the only Michelangelo marble sculpture in the UK and a treasure of the Royal Academy's collection. Texts by Martin Clayton examine how existential concerns - the preoccupation of many Renaissance artists, not least Michelangelo - are explored in Viola's often profoundly moving video installations, while Kira Perov provides insight into Viola's working processes. AUTHORS: Martin Clayton is Head of Prints and Drawings at Royal Collection Trust. Kira Perov is Bill Viola's partner and executive director of Bill Viola Studio. She manages, creatively guides and assists with the production of all his videotapes and installations, and curates exhibitions of his works worldwide. SELLING POINTS: * A selection of key works by the American video artist Bill Viola are presented alongside Michelangelo's drawings - revealing surprising parallels * Accompanies an exhibition presenting both artists' works at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, from 26 January to 31 March 2019 140 colour images

Kira Perov

Books

Your next favorite book is out there